This guide is designed to present a variety of techniques that can be used in conducting classroom observations. Observation techniques are clustered under four major teaching/learning variables: time on task, teacher talk, classroom interaction, and organization and management. Techniques are presented with an overview that details the rationale…

This text provides a selective review of major topics in the sociology of education with special attention given to key issues and questions that sociologists have examined when studying education and schools. It is an introduction, not a comprehensive guide, to work that has been conducted mainly in Britain. The focus is on empirical material,…

Intended as a resource for administrators, teachers, parents, and those responsible for curriculum development, this guide identifies the elements of a kindergarten program which provides a productive learning experience for 5-year-old children. Four main elements are highlighted as prerequisites for an effective kindergarten program. First, the…

To be a competent teacher, the school environment must be organized to preserve a system of student behavior and group functioning which allows the teacher to select the activities in which the group will engage. This is often called "maintaining control" by teachers. Means of organizing the school context to affect student behavior are…

In order to determine if -- assuming that the teacher's role as an authority figure is different in the open classroom than in the traditional classroom -- classroom arrangement affects students' attitudes toward governmental authority figures, a questionnaire was administered to public elementary school children from a suburban school in a large…

How teachers' incentives affect the way they go about their work is the subject of this report. Data (originally collected for another related study by the author) were obtained through classroom and nonclassroom observations and teacher interviews. The report consists primarily of a comparison of the teaching of two teachers. Material from lesson…

Data for this study were collected by observing 60 secondary school English classes over a four-month period. The principals of six schools chose 15 of their most effective teachers to be observed. Four questions were addressed: (1) How do teachers and students spend classroom time together?; (2) What instructional processes are used most often?;…

The purpose of this publication is to define the program of kindergarten through grade 12 reading instruction in Montgomery County, Maryland, schools. It lists the reading objectives and minimum performance levels and identifies, by grade level, those which are to receive the highest teaching/learning priority. It also contains instructions for…

This book is for both elementary school teachers and students. Suggestions are provided for the teacher on ways to organize time, space, and materials with the emphasis on individualized instruction for the pupils. Materials for the students include activities and small questionnaires structured to reveal to the teacher each child's attitudes,…

The described inservice teacher education materials are for the use of kindergarten and first-grade teachers who are learning to teach Distar Reading I. In-depth information is given on the Distar Reading program. The scope and sequencing of topics for the program are described and ordering information given. A description of the activities and…

This document mentions that the Cincinnati preschool program is funded through the Economic Opportunity Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and that the program's purpose is to provide an environment to stimulate and aid the intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development of 4- and 5-year olds. The guidelines in this…

In outline form, this monograph presents an analysis of specific cues that can assist those responsible for instruction to develop and analyze classroom environments that maximize opportunities for students to grow. It is divided into the following four areas: (1) evidence of effective organization; (2) evidence of effective resource management;…

This study attempts to determine whether or not ability grouping is desirable for effective instruction. Parents volunteered their children for assignment to a heterogeneous social studies class. Students were divided into a Volunteer Group, a Non-volunteer Group and a Non-response Group. Students for the heterogeneous classes were randomly…

The premises of this article are that the teacher should be the prime developer of curriculum and that total staff involvement in curriculum development must be a reality if instructional improvement in reading is to be effected. With this in mind, eight musts for teachers are set forth and expounded upon. (1) The teacher must set the scope of the…

Presented are guidelines for the use of learning centers to implement individualized instruction with elementary grade educable mentally retarded students. After an introduction, sections focus on the following topics: goals, objectives, the meaning of learning centers, operation of learning centers, classroom design, and starting the day. The…